35 Bible Verses about Guidance, Examples Of God's
Most Relevant Verses
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearer, because God had said, "If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led the people the roundabout way of the desert toward the Reed Sea. The Israelis went up from the land of Egypt in military formation.
Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way these 40 years in the desert, to humble and test you in order to make known what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
and Joshua told all of the people, "This is what the LORD God of Israel has to say: "Long ago your ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates River, including Terah, father of both Abraham and Nahor, where they served other gods. Then I took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates River and led him through the entire land of Canaan. I multiplied his descendants, and gave him his son Isaac.
Your way was through the sea, and your path through mighty waters, but your footprints cannot be traced. You have led your people like a flock by the hands of Moses and Aaron. An instruction of Asaph
He shouted at the Reed Sea and it dried up; and led them through the sea as though through a desert.
It was he who led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for 40 years.
"Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen! The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made them a great people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with a public display of power he led them out of there.
The LORD is the one who is shepherding me; I lack nothing. He causes me to lie down in pastures of green grass; he guides me beside quiet waters. He revives my life; he leads me in pathways that are righteous for the sake of his name.
Yet he led out his people like sheep, guiding them like a flock in the desert. He led them to safety so they would not fear. As for their enemies, the sea covered them. He brought the people to the border of his holy mountain, which he acquired by his might.
Like a shepherd, he tends his flock. He gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them close to his heart, and gently leads the mother sheep."
Then they remembered the days of old, of Moses his servant. Where is the one who brought up out of the sea the shepherds of his flock? Where is the one who put his Holy Spirit among them, and who made his glorious arm march at Moses' right hand, who divided the waters in front of them to win an everlasting name, who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the open desert, they did not stumble;read more.
like cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. For you led your people, to win for yourself a glorious name.
"I'll gather the remnant of my flock from all the countries where I've driven them, and bring them back to their pasture where they'll be fruitful and increase in numbers.
Just as a shepherd looks after his flock during the day time while he is with them, so also I'm going to watch over my sheep, delivering them from every place where they've been scattered during the times of gloom and doom. I'm going to bring them out from foreign nations and from foreign lands. Then I'll bring them to their own land and feed them in Israel on the mountains, in their valleys, and in all of their settlements throughout the land.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, supporting them by their arms, but they never knew that I was healing them. I guided them with human kindness, with loving reins. I acted toward them like one who removes a yoke from their neck; I bent down and fed them.
It's to him the gatekeeper opens the gate, and it's his voice the sheep hear. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
Because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia, Paul and Timothy went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia. They went as far as Mysia and tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them, so they bypassed Mysia and went down to Troas. read more.
During the night Paul had a vision. A man from Macedonia was standing there and pleading with him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!" As soon as he had seen the vision, we immediately looked for a way to go to Macedonia, because we were convinced that God had called us to tell the people there the good news.
That's when he prayed, "LORD God of my master Abraham, help me to succeed today. Please show your gracious love to my master Abraham. I've stationed myself here by the spring as the women of the town come to draw water. May it be that the young woman to whom I ask, "Please, lower your jug so that I may drink,' responds, "Have a drink, and I'll water your camels as well.' May she be the one whom you have chosen for your servant Isaac. This is how I'll know that you have shown your gracious love to my master."read more.
Before he had finished speaking, Rebekah appeared. She was a daughter of Milcah's son Bethuel. (Milcah was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.) She approached the well, carrying a jug on her shoulder. The woman was very beautiful, young, and had not had sexual relations with a man. Going down to the spring, she filled her jug and turned for home. Then Abraham's servant ran to meet her and asked her, "Please, let me have a sip of water from your jug." "Drink, sir!" she replied as she quickly lowered her jug on her arm to offer him a drink. When she had finished giving him a drink, she also said, "I'll also draw water for your camels until they've had enough to drink." She quickly emptied her jug into the trough and ran to the well to draw again until she had drawn enough water for all ten of the servant's camels. The man stared at her in silence, waiting to see whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a half shekel and two bracelets for her wrists, weighing 10 shekels and presented them to her. He asked her, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" "I am the daughter of Bethuel," she answered. "He's the son of Milcah and Nahor. And yes," she continued, "we have plenty of straw and feed, as well as a place to spend the night." At this, the man bowed down and worshipped the LORD. "Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hasn't held back his gracious love and faithfulness from my master! The LORD has led me to the house of my master's relatives!"
Then Balaam instructed Balak, "Stand by your offering and leave me alone by myself. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me. I'll tell you whatever he reveals to me." And so he went to a high place, where the LORD met with Balaam, who told him, "I've prepared seven altars and offered bulls and rams on an altar." Then the LORD gave Balaam this message. "Return to Balak and speak to him."read more.
So Balaam returned to where Balak had been standing, that is, next to his offerings, accompanied by all the Moabite officials. Then Balaam uttered this prophetic statement: "King Balak of Moab brought me from Aram, from the eastern mountains, and told me, "Come and curse Jacob for me. Come and curse Israel.' But how can I curse those whom God hasn't cursed? How can I denounce those whom the LORD hasn't denounced?
Then Gideon told God, "If you intend to deliver Israel by my efforts as you've said, then take a look at this wool fleece that I'm placing on the threshing floor. If dew appears only on the fleece and it's dry on the ground all around it then I'll know that you'll deliver Israel by my efforts like you've said." And that is what happened: When he got up early the next morning, he wrung out the fleece to drain the dew from it and extracted a bowl full of water.read more.
Then Gideon told God, "Don't let yourself be angry with me! I want to ask you once again: please let me make a test with the fleece just once more. Cause it to be dry only on the fleece, but let there be dew all around on the ground." And God did it just like that later that night. It was dry only on the fleece, but dew was all around on the ground.
From there the Israelis went up and wept in the LORD's presence until evening. Then they asked the LORD, "Should we attack the descendants of Benjamin again?" The LORD replied, "Attack them." So the Israelis attacked the descendants of Benjamin for a second day, and the tribe of Benjamin went to war against them from Gibeah during that second day, and 18,000 soldiers from the Israelis all of them expert swordsmen fell to the ground. read more.
All the Israelis, including its army, went up from there to Bethel and wept, remaining there in the LORD's presence, fasting throughout the day until dusk, when they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in the LORD's presence. The Israelis inquired of the LORD, since the Ark of the Covenant was there at that time while Eleazar's son Phinehas, a descendant of Aaron, served before it in those days. They asked, "Should we go out to war again against the descendants of our relative Benjamin, or shall we cease?" And the LORD answered, "Go out, and tomorrow I will deliver them into your control."
They wandered in desolate wilderness; they found no road to a city where they could live. Hungry and thirsty, their spirits failed. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.read more.
He led them in a straight way to find a city where they could live.
The young man said, "Look, there's a man of God in this town. The man is respected, and everything he predicts happens. Now, let's go there. Perhaps he can tell us about the journey on which we have set out." Saul told the young man, "Look, we could go, but what could we bring the man? The bread is gone from our bags, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have with us?" The young man answered Saul again, "Look here! I have in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I'll give it to the man of God, and he will tell us about our journey."read more.
(Previously in Israel, a person would say when he went to inquire of God, "Come on! Let's go to the seer!" because the person known as a prophet today was formerly called a seer.) Saul told his young man, "That's a good suggestion! Come on, let's go!" Then they entered the town where the man of God was.
Samuel brought forward all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, and the family of Matri was chosen. Finally, Kish's son Saul was chosen, but when they looked for him, they couldn't find him. So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?" The LORD said, "He is here, hiding among the baggage."read more.
They ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the others by a head. Then Samuel told all the people, "Do you see the man whom the LORD has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people." Then all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
Someone told David, "Look, the Philistines are fighting at Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors." David inquired of the LORD: "Shall I go and strike down these Philistines?" The LORD told David, "Go strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah." David's men told him, "Look, we're afraid here in Judah. How much then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine army?"read more.
David inquired of the LORD again, and the LORD answered him: "Get up, go down to Keilah. I'll give the Philistines into your control." David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He carried off their livestock and defeated them decisively, and so David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.
David told Ahimelech's son Abiathar the priest, "Bring me the ephod." So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. David inquired of the LORD: "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?"
Some time later, David inquired of the LORD to ask, "Am I to move to any one of the cities of Judah?" The LORD told him, "Go." So David asked, "To which one?" He replied, "To Hebron."
Meanwhile, the Philistines arrived and encamped in the Rephaim Valley, so David asked the LORD, "Am I to go attack the Philistines? Will you give me victory over them?" "Go get them," the LORD replied to David, "because I'm going to put the Philistines right into your hand!"
All the other prophets were saying similar things, like "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and you will be successful, because the LORD will hand it over to the king!" Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone off to summon Micaiah advised him, "Look, everything that the other prophets were saying was unanimously favorable to the king. So please, cooperate with them and speak favorably." "As the LORD lives," Micaiah replied, "I'll say what my God tells me to say."read more.
When Micaiah approached the king, the king asked him, "Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I not?" "Go to war," Micaiah replied, "and you will be successful, because the LORD will hand it over to the king!" When he heard this, the king asked him, "How many times do I have to make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth? Now do it in the name of the LORD!" So Micaiah replied: "I saw all of Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD told me, "These have no master, so let them each return to his own home in peace.'" Then the king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, "Didn't I tell you that he wouldn't prophesy anything good about me, but only evil?" But Micaiah responded, "Therefore, listen to what the LORD has to say. I saw the LORD, sitting on his throne, and the entire Heavenly Army was standing around him on his right hand and on his left hand. "The LORD asked, "Who will tempt King Ahab of Israel to attack Ramoth-gilead, so that he will die there?' And one was saying one thing and one was saying another. "But then a spirit approached, stood in front of the LORD, and said, "I will entice him.' "And the LORD asked him, "How?' ""I will go,' he announced, "and I will be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all of his prophets!' "So the LORD said, "You're just the one to deceive him. You will be successful. Go and do it.' "Now therefore, listen! The LORD has placed a lying spirit in the mouth of all of these prophets of yours, because the LORD has determined to bring disaster upon you."
"Go ask the LORD for me, for the people, and for all of Judah about what's written in this book that has been discovered, because the LORD's anger is burning against us, since our ancestors have not listened to the words written in this book and have not lived according to everything that is written concerning us." So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophet Huldah, the wife of Tikvah's son Shallum, the grandson of Harhas and supervisor of the royal wardrobe, who lived in the Second Quarter in Jerusalem. They spoke with her, and she told them, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "Tell the man who sent you to me: read more.
"This is what the Lord says: "Look! I'm bringing disaster on this place and on its inhabitants everything written in the book that the king of Judah has read because they have abandoned me, burned incense to other gods, and they have provoked me to anger with everything that they've done. Therefore my anger is kindled against this place and it won't be quenched!'" Nevertheless, tell the king of Judah who sent you to ask the LORD about this, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "Now about what you've heard, because your heart was sensitive, and you humbled yourself in the LORD's presence when you heard what I had to say against this place and against its inhabitants that they would become a desolation and a curse and you have torn your clothes and cried out before me, be assured that I have truly heard you,' declares the LORD. "Therefore, look! I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be placed in your grave in peace. Your eyes will never see all the evil that I will bring on this place.'"'"
"Pay attention, everyone in Judah, in Jerusalem, and you, too, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says to you: "Stop being afraid, and stop being discouraged because of this vast invasion force, because the battle doesn't belong to you, but to God. Tomorrow you are to go down to attack them. Pay attention, now they'll be coming up near the ascent of Ziz. You'll find them at the end of the valley that looks out over the Jeruel wilderness. You won't be fighting in this battle. Take your stand, but stand still, and watch the LORD's salvation on your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem! Never fear and never be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, since the LORD is with you.'"
The message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Malchijah's son Pashhur and Maaseiah's son Zephaniah the priest: "Please inquire of the LORD on our behalf, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is fighting against us. Perhaps the LORD will do some of his miraculous acts for us, and Nebuchadnezzar will depart from us." Jeremiah told them, "This is what you are to say to Zedekiah, read more.
"This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "I'm about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. I'll gather them into the center of this city. Because of my anger, wrath, and great fury, I'll fight against you myself with an outstretched hand and a strong arm. I'll strike down the residents of this city, both people and animals, and they'll die from a terrible plague. Afterwards," declares the LORD, "I'll give King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people those who are left in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine into the control of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, right into the hand of their enemies and the hand of those who want to kill them. He'll execute them with swords and won't pity them. He won't spare them, nor will he have compassion on them."'
The Philistines assembled, moved out, and camped at Shunem, while Saul assembled all Israel and camped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the Philistine camp, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. Saul inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him, either through dreams or Urim or through prophets. read more.
Saul told his servants, "Find me a woman who is a medium so I can go to her and make my inquiry through her." His servants told him, "Look, there's a woman at Endor who is a medium."
"Indeed, my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." "Is Israel a slave, or was he born a servant? Why then has he become plunder? Young lions roar at him, they cry out loudly. They have made his land into a wasteland, and his cities are destroyed so they are without inhabitants.read more.
Also, people from Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken your skull. You have done this to yourselves, have you not, by forsaking the LORD your God, when he is the one who led you on the way?
When Jeremiah had finished telling all the people all the words that the LORD their God had sent him to tell them that is, all these words Hoshaiah's son Azariah, Kareah's son Johanan, and all the arrogant men told Jeremiah, "You're lying! The LORD our God didn't send you to say, "Don't go to Egypt to settle there.' Indeed, Neriah's son Baruch is inciting you against us in order to give us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to kill us, or to take us into exile to Babylon."read more.
So Kareah's son Johanan, all the military leaders, and all the people did not obey the instructions given by the LORD to remain in the land of Judah.
